VW Anhui has no new models lined up for 2027-28 as ID. UNYX sales stall

Volkswagen Anhui has no all-new models planned for 2027 or 2028, and an internal sales target of 128,000 ID. UNYX vehicles for 2027 sits against just 11,360 sold in the first nine months of this year. That's the gap — roughly elevenfold — now defining the German automaker's EV troubles in China.

Reuters reported the product-planning hole on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter. The joint venture expected far stronger demand for the ID. UNYX series than has materialized, and it remains unprofitable, according to the report.

What did management expect?

One of the sources said management believed the existing lineup would be enough to establish the brand and carry sales through 2028. The company had also considered launching a crossover in 2028. That project has been put on hold too.

So the cupboard, for now, holds four models and a lot of hope. The takeaway: VW bet a brand launch on demand that never showed up.

How big is the shortfall?

An internal document dated late October, reviewed by Reuters, lays out the numbers plainly:

• Planned production of 33,000 ID. UNYX vehicles this year
• A 2027 sales target of 128,000 vehicles
• Actual sales of 11,360 from January through September, per consultancy ThinkerCar

The 2027 target works out to more than 10,600 cars a month. The brand is currently selling about a third of its own 2024 production plan. Plainly: the plan assumes a volume surge with no new metal to drive it.

What is VW Anhui actually selling?

The ID. UNYX range comprises four vehicles: the 06 SUV, the 07 sedan, the 08 SUV and the 09 sedan. The 08, jointly developed with Xpeng, went on sale in April — and sales since launch have fallen far short of targets, Reuters previously reported.

The response has been speed and discounts. In September, about five months after the 08's rollout, VW Anhui refreshed it and offered a limited-time starting price 17.4% below the April launch price. In October it updated the 06 and 07, adding LiDAR-based driver assistance and cutting entry prices, then launched the 09 — the second model developed with Xpeng.

Five months from launch to a 17.4% price cut is not a healthy cadence. It's triage.

What about the dealer network?

Distribution is widening. In April, Volkswagen Anhui struck an agreement with FAW-Volkswagen allowing selected FAW-Volkswagen dealers to display and sell Anhui models through a "store-in-store" format.

Volkswagen China told Reuters it was focused on expanding and optimizing the dealer network "to reach more customers and achieve sustainable growth," but declined to comment on product strategy. The company also said VW Anhui was in the midst of a product offensive, with four models on sale and a pipeline extending beyond this year.

Notably, that response did not say whether any all-new models would arrive in 2027 or 2028. Refreshes and additions are different things, and VW's wording kept the distinction convenient.

What comes next?

Volkswagen China said it will introduce 30 new energy vehicle models in China through 2029, including products from Volkswagen Anhui, while refreshing the ID. UNYX series to keep it competitive.

Volkswagen Anhui dates from 2017, a joint venture with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC). VW raised its stake to 75% in late 2020 — a majority bet on exactly the EV demand that hasn't arrived.

Watch two things: whether the 128,000-unit 2027 target survives contact with next year's planning cycle, and whether the shelved 2028 crossover quietly reappears once LiDAR-equipped refreshes and the FAW-Volkswagen channel have had time to move the monthly numbers.